Aaron Rai replaces Justin Thomas in Hero World Challenge field

England's Aaron Rai will replace Justin Thomas in next month's Hero World Challenge field.

Thomas will miss the start of the 2026 season after announcing last week that he had undergone microdiscectomy surgery on his back. No timetable has been announced yet for his return to competition.

Rai is up to No. 23 in the Official World Golf Ranking after winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship two weeks ago before finishing 41st at the DP World Tour Championship on Sunday. He also tied for third at the BMW Championship.

Rai posted 10 top-25 finishes in 21 events on the PGA Tour this season. This will be the second time he has played in the Dec. 4-7 event at the Albany Golf Course in the Bahamas hosted by Tiger Woods, having tied for 14th in the 20-player field last year.

2026 HERO WORLD CHALLENGE FIELD

Scottie Scheffler

J.J. Spaun

Robert MacIntyre

Harris English

Keegan Bradley

Justin Rose

Sepp Straka

Hideki Matsuyama

Cameron Young

Sam Burns

Corey Conners

Chris Gotterup

Wyndham Clark

Brian Harman

Andrew Novak

Alex Noren

Akshay Bhatia

Billy Horschel

Jordan Spieth

Aaron Rai

Thomas said a successful microdiscectomy was performed last Thursday in New Yorks, alleviating a disc problem that had been causing hip pain.

Thomas, 32, is a 16-time PGA event champion, having won the PGA Championship in 2017 and 2022.

He posted the news on Instagram, saying in part, "I'm not putting any tournament on the calendar or specific time for returning. While I will miss some events in the beginning of 2026, I want to be very smart and patient in letting my disc fully heal so it isn't an issue again."

--Field Level Media